Sweden’s outbound travel trends

Places beyond the usual tourist resorts are being booked increasingly by Swedes for 2018, including Geneva, Gdansk and Fukuoka in Japan, a new report says.

The outbound trends also include travelling further and staying away longer. Low-cost carriers appear to be in favour of this trend, while at the same time putting further price pressure on the more established airlines.

The findings are part of the European Traveller Insights Report 2017, which the Nordic online agency Travellink has issued, developed together with eDreams ODIGEO and based on the millions of people who book with the agency annually.

Travel to long-haul destinations like Fukuoka, Vancouver, Johannesburg and New Delhi has increased significantly among Swedish travellers as new routes are launched and new places become accessible.

“The low-cost airlines have recently made it possible for travellers to travel longer for less money. This means we can be more spontaneous in our bookings and book closer to departure,” says Maryline Morini, head of customer communications at Travellink.

“For departures in January and February, for example, we see that travellers only book 26 days before departure. Another trend that grows stronger among Swedes is the ability to tailor their journey by flying with different airlines there and back. Swedes want to be flexible, and in the last year tailored bookings have increased from 19% to 43%.”

New destinations
London and Barcelona have long been popular among Swedes. But now London has gone from seventh to first as the most booked travel destination among Swedes for 2018. New opponents such as Warsaw and Gdansk are not far behind.

Reservations for long-haul flights with budget airlines have increased among Europeans by 29% over the past year, while prices for this type of trip have fallen by 7%, according to Travellink.

Now more Swedes are able to travel to destinations like Orlando and Singapore, as air fares to Orlando, for example, have fallen by 6% in the last year. And the average stay has grown from 14 to 20 days.

The threat of terrorism is not dissuading Swedes. Major cities in Europe exposed to attacks have not seen a prolonged slump in bookings made by Europeans, with trips to Paris rising 4%, London by 24% and Berlin by 10% in 2017 compared with 2016.

Other key destinations being booked by Swedes for 2018 include Malaga, Milan, Alicante, Rome, Barcelona, Budapest, Prague, Hamburg and Rio de Janeiro.

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